Manchester, England: On August 16, 2003, Cristiano Ronaldo made his debut for England’s biggest club Manchester United after being transferred from Portuguese club ‘Sporting Portugal’.
Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United at that time, saw Ronaldo’s talent and capability during a friendly match against ‘Sporting Portugal’ on August 09, 2003.
The match ended as a victory for sporting Lisbon (3-1), with Ronaldo’s assist and brilliant performance outperforming every United defender. It was the first time Sir Alex Ferguson saw Ronaldo in action.
Later, the young Portuguese was brought to Old Trafford on August 16, 2023, during a Premier League match against Bolton. Ronaldo performed brilliantly and shined at Old Trafford with his remarkable dribbling skills.
ON THIS DAY IN 2003:
Cristiano Ronaldo made his iconic debut for Manchester United.
The rest is history! 🏆🐐pic.twitter.com/Lc8bPbcAVq
— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) August 16, 2023
During his first match in Premier League, Ronaldo became a big problem for Bolton’s defenders. He was almost unstoppable, passing through every defence and creating goal opportunities. The Portuguese provided a dazzling performance to the spectators in Old Trafford in his first Premier League game.
The frustration created by Ronaldo’s pace and dribbling skills on Bolton’s defenders made Nolan Bolton pull Ronaldo by grabbing his shirt. The referee awarded United a penalty due to the foul made by Nolan.
On his debut, Ronaldo significantly helped his new team to gain victory over Bolton by 4-0. Ronaldo amazed everyone with his spectacular balling skills and with the amount of confidence he played in his first Premier League game.
Later, the rising star performed better and became an icon that Manchester United fans will remember forever. Ronaldo played for Manchester United for six years, from 2003 to 2009 and returned to Old Trafford again in the summer of 2021.
He scored 103 goals in 236 appearances and 37 assists. He won three consecutive Premier League titles in seasons 2006-07, 2007-08, and 2008-09, a Champions League trophy in 2008, FA Cup in 2004, League Cup in 2006 and 2009, Club World in 2007 and Club World Cup in 2008.
During season 2021-22, after returning to Old Trafford from Italian giant Juventus, Ronaldo made some remarkable performances even though he was 37 years old and playing in the topmost league in Europe.
Ronaldo remained the most clutch player in season 2021-22, scoring a goal out of nowhere whenever his team was a goal down or equal. During season 2022-23, his relations with new manager Erik Ten Hag didn’t remain good.
Ten Hag mostly benched Ronaldo in several games, which resulted in Ronaldo leaving United on a mutual agreement. His final days at Old Trafford didn’t go well, and he left the club to face another challenge in a different region.
On December 31, 2022, the five-time Balon d’Or winner moved to Saudi Pro League and joined AL Nassr. Recently, he won his first title with AL Nassr by defeating rival AL- Hilal Arab Club Champions Club by singlehandedly carrying his team and scoring a brace to secure the title.
